Unofficial news and tips about Google

September 24, 2008

Google Contacts

One of the most visible changes in Gmail 2.0 was the new contact manager with better search options and more flexible exporting. You might have noticed that the contacts list doesn't load instantly and that's because Gmail opens a separate web page in an iframe.

Although I'm a great fan of Google I must recognize that Google Contacts sucks! They should buy Plaxo or something like that! Google is probably aware that their contact management tool is pretty bad and I assume they are working to improve it A LOT!

Totally off topic: I was warned today while using grandcentral that they will soon be charging for out going calls, it did nit specify when this will begin, but I did have to do a "token" purchase of time (ie just a click of a button but no actual transaction) be interesting to see how Google plans to roll this one out and how successful a paid Google service will be.

Problem with Google contacts is that as soon as Picasaweb started linking faces to contacts, many peoples' contacts became corrupted or vanished entirely. A contact API is not much use when all my contacts have disappeared!

I base everything around contacts but there is no web based firm in this space with a finished product. Plaxo is crumbling and Google does not seem all that interested. Is there no way to monetize this app? If Google built gmail usability into contacts I could ditch Outlook.

My big problem with Google Contacts is that if you have more than one Google account, there's no way of having ONE contact list that you can draw from for both. I have a personal account and work/school account, but am often on my school one more, and it's a pain in the ass to have to log out, then into my personal one, just to send a friend of family member a quick note. If I manually move all the info from one account into the other, the two are not synced for long, as new contacts are always added and old info is always changed!!! ARGHHG it drives me nuts.

I really don't like the contacts editor. Because gmail has for so long auto-added contacts, I'll have several with the same address. It has no way to merge them and if I add "additional" email addresses to an existing contact, it doesn't let me because another contact already has that address.

Also, there's no field for URL. Everyone has a website. Where is the URL?

On my Android g1, I can add custom labels, but I can't in the contacts page. And although contacts seem to integrate with Google Reader, there's no obvious way to do it.

I wish they would add URLS as multiple fields, just like they do for phone and email. I thought google was with the times. Everyone has a page on facebook, myspace, flickr, picasa, ebay, and COUNTLESS other pages that might be useful. Especially when I sync to my G1, I want a one-click ability to goto my contact's webpage.

A birthday field might be nice that syncs automatically into google calendar.

Well, they've launched Google Sync, but as another poster said last fall, the lack of delineation within Name (at least to FirstName and LastName) makes the synchronisation viability deeply questionable ....

google contacts suck.. i lost my contacts upon synch with iphone. do not follow this link http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138759&topic=14252

the step 6 says apply but there is not a single step that says 'SYNC'. yeah may be you need to be a nerd or geek'sh to go figure. So I did step 6 and did everything on step 7 and then no contacts on iphone.. all hard work lost !! voila.. you are warned !!

To anonymous on March 9 - SAME THING JUST HAPPENED TO ME! 10 years of contacts vanished off my iphone due to following Google's exact instructions to back them up on that page. Thankfully I should have everything up to a year and a half ago archived somewhere, but nevertheless that page is bogus. Don't follow it.

most of the web sites do a fine job on what they do, but most of the web sites has a lack of comunation with their people that has problems with their web sites,this is important to us because we have to run a bussiness like the web sites and be serious about it,why cant you? This is no joke. If it wasnt for the users of the web sites they wouldnt be making any money or is it only about your money? GET SERIOUS

Google Contacts sucks almost as much as Windows Mail Contacts. I'm desperately searching for a GOOD- as in GOOD!- online addressbook. I'm not finding any. I'm miffed. Google has a great calendar. This is the computer age. Is no one keeping their entire addressbook online for safety?

I AM TRYIN TO GET A PHONE NUMBER TO TALK TO A LIVE PERSON I DESIGNED MY BLOG AND BOUGHT MY DOMAIN NAME TODAY BUT I WAS TOLD BY GO DADDY THAT BLOGGER WILL HAVE TO BUILD AND HOST THE SITE HOW DO I SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON

Google should really step up the game in their Google Contacts, since everything could/should evolve around this app!

Just think of i.e. of PROPER auto-import/sync with all the facebook/hi5/linkedin etc, in which the data is automatically adjusted when someone edits their profile details (address, phonenumbers, photo's etc.)

GOOGLE, please for the sake of our collective sanity, (at a minimum)BUILD A SYNC APP FOR CONTACTS - AS YOU HAVE DONE ALREADY WITH GOOGLE CALENDAR... This will solve all of the outlook syncing problems... I bet your lead designer/programmer could modify the calendar sync in an afternoon at his second home in hawaii - overlooking the beach! Please bring some sense into the Contacts domain...

I fully agree with Cody Hayes!As Plaxo is abandoning it's longtime users of the free sync tool, this is a golden opportunity for you guys at Google!I recently installed the calendar sync for Outlook and this satisfies completely!I don't mind where the application is being written (stuffy office or elsewhere ;-)), but please DO write it!I also use this to have desktop and laptop synchronised amongst them!Thanks guys and keep up the good work!

I like Googles approach but hey, I do dislike capital letters screaming for more free stuff.Please.I also lack a good syncing for my contacts. My contacts have been corupted by mobilephones and third-party solution soo many times over the years.and probably also by outlook in the early days.

I just want to thank Google for coming into our lives. So many of the other sites I needed to use when I began surfing the net were too flashy, too much, too useless. I did use one, where I found a whole host of people that I have now been associated with for more than 10 years - a poetry site - and I have made an endless number of friends and contacts - several of whom I have personally met. While Google was not the "safe" end of that, as the website owner was within reason, still, it is Google that lists my profiles for which I am greatful.

Google, Birthday blessings, and many decades returns on your successes in innovative concepts to come.

Contacts is definitely the weakest link is Google's services. It is lacking many basic features and almost impossible to use for managing many contacts and lists. A few examples of missing functionality:* No way to separate "suggested" contacts from actual ones.* Poor sync options with desktop clients such as Outlook.* Poor display options - impossible to customize columns in list view.

I wish Google would do something about it already. The existing interface is pretty useless...

Google has many, many wonderful, innovative, and creative products.But Contacts is one of them. Hopefully, they'll announce a surprise (like they always do) and revamp Google Contacts. What I'm really hoping for is something really different, the way they're going for Wave to replace Gmail.

I am sure waiting for a solid Google Contacts app. The lack of Google Contacts is the only reason I still open MS Outlook daily. I have to sync Outlook with my iPhone. I know I can push Google Contacts to my iPhone, but Google Contacts is so weak I can't possibly use it as my main contacts app. I no longer use Outlook Calendar. As a matter of fact, I am sure, many of us are still using Outlook ONLY because Google Contacts is inferior to Outlook Contacts.I really hope Google addresses this as soon as possible.

Sorry, but now I go back to outlook. This is the last time google contact screwed up all my 250 family names and surnames during the syncing with the mobile phone! Why isn't it possible to seperate the family name and the surename? :-(

I've try many times to get my passworld back. I have my old passworld and my login but the gmail web site does not accept bought. I also have my temporary question and a new gmail account where I thought the gmail could send the new passworld...but nothing!!I don't know what to do anymore I have many important e-mails from work.Can some one help me?

Google contacts is absolutely the worst example of technology I have ever experienced in my life! Twenty three and a half minutes to merge two contacts and then edit the new contact??!!!! *&^$@%! That is ridiculous. You check a box, the page refreshes. You check the other box, the page refreshes again. You "merge" the page freezes for 14 minutes. You realize that the newly merged contact was saved as googlecontactssucks@whatajoke.com instead of Mr. Google Contactssucks so now you have to edit the thing. Check box, page refreshes, click edit, page freezes. C'mon, really?! These guys can create Google Earth, but they have Step it and Fetch It programming the Contacts app on a modded Vic 20? Maybe consider hiring someone from MS Outlook to get you at least moving in the general direction. I actually had a bit of hope when they introduced the mass merge function until I realized that "duplicates" in the Google world means two entries with the exact same name. Never mind that the five contacts with exactly the same email address are completely ignored!! I'm so frustrated I can't even think straight and there are sadly no better solutions out there. Outlook is probably the best, but has no realistic and effective way to deal with duplicates, so that sucks too! Anyone discover anything that works? Plaxo premium was supposed to work, but it also was very lame in the duplicates department, especially for $60 a year.

I just got the backflip motoblur and I'm lost, have no phone contacts only email contacts, I've been back yo AT&T 2 times and still not resolved. Very frustrating!So be careful and yes, I agree, a better system must be created!Any suggestions? Has anyone purchased the same phone?

oh my god! I thought i was alone on this. My contacts r somewhere in orbit! I bought the phone the manager asked if I wanted a google account so if my phone gets stolen or something happens my contacts would be save. I thought that was a great idea. A week ago my daughter gets ahold of my phone and it goes on securety shutdown. Sprint cant get in, Samsung cant get so I would basically lose all my contacts, my voicemails and my text messages. It was my livelyhood! I remembered what the mgr. said so I went to my google account to retreive my contacts and it was NOTHING! NOTHING WAS THERE! I cried. I can receive calls but cant make them. The phone is still on lockdown and its asking for my username and password in order for me to get in. I gave that and it still would not let me in yet I can get in on the computer with it. GOOGLE..... WHAT IS GOING ONNNNNNNN!? I need help asap! I dont want to give technical support my phone for them to erase everything and I have to start over. If someone can help me get in I will save everything on my phone to my flashdrive and go get the phone updated. SOH!

Still desirable to have contacts have seperate fields for name. One field for first name another field for second.

With the changes above it also be of benefit for contact display to have the option of sorting the list of contacts based upon ANY field. For example, sort the contacts by birthday or by company or by last/first name.

These changes would make contacts much much more intuitive and easy to use.

If anyone can help for the following situation would be much appreciated.I have a business Gmail account with the contact list app's. Recently my contact page lost all of its field features.I cannot even view or search my contacts. I can see I have all my contacts still there but cannot even view the address telephone fields etc... If someone knows how to get the original display format (look)of the contact page and get all the field features back please let me know. I can supply more information via email if needed, just let me know the info you need.Cheers,Colin

Can anyone guide on how to import information from an excel spreadsheet into Google contacts. I have a spreadsheet with a whole bunch of names, cell #s and email addresses. anyway i can import with one click all the info in appropriate fields?SSM

What are you doing with google earth? Im actually making a feature film in sweden working with google earth only, quite intresting concept using google earth only and brining out some really necessery and helpfull concepts working with google earth. And now you suddenly ruin everything by updating to the less, sorry can´t work in this workshop doing less. I dont know what you want or youre under pressure but from now on google earth are less than before. Not smoth at all. Sorry...

oh my god! I thought i was alone on this. My contacts r somewhere in orbit! I bought the phone the manager asked if I wanted a google account so if my phone gets stolen or something happens my contacts would be save. I thought that was a great idea. A week ago my daughter gets ahold of my phone and it goes on securety shutdown. Sprint cant get in, Samsung cant get so I would basically lose all my contacts, my voicemails and my text messages. It was my livelyhood! I remembered what the mgr. said so I went to my google account to retreive my contacts and it was NOTHING! NOTHING WAS THERE! I cried. I can receive calls but cant make them. The phone is still on lockdown and its asking for my username and password in order for me to get in. I gave that and it still would not let me in yet I can get in on the computer with it. GOOGLE..... WHAT IS GOING ONNNNNNNN!? I need help asap! I dont want to give technical support my phone for them to erase everything and I have to start over. If someone can help me get in I will save everything on my phone to my flashdrive and go get the phone updated. SOH!

My name is danieland i have many emails with gmail but i can't get into any one of themFor days now i was trying to access this email of mine danielhameed@gmail.com i sent them the information telling them that i cannot sign into my email they sent me a message telling me that they have sent an email to my email address danielhameed@gmail.com asking me to go into my email to prove that this email is mine how can prove anything if i can't get into the account you're telling the door is locked and although the door is locked you won't give me the key to get into the house. I'm asking you to help get into my email and you're saying i sent a an email go into your email and verafy your username if i could get into it would i ask you to help me?